Taking Cover
by chillbill
Summary: Despite Reborn not being set to mentor him until he is twenty one, Tsuna still stumbles into the mafia at 16 years old, when his identity as the son of the Vongola's Young Lion is leaked. 1827.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Despite Reborn not being set to mentor him until he is twenty one, Tsuna still stumbles into the mafia at 16 years old, when his identity as the son of the Vongola's Young Lion is leaked.

Disclaimer: not mine

Prologue: Home Coming

* * *

 **Nana and Tsuna walked huddle together under a shared umbrella carrying small grocery bags through the damp streets. It was cramped under the mall umbrella and her arm was a bit wet, but Nana didn't mind of course; she was just happy to be so close to her boy. In contrast to his mother's shining smile, Tsuna sported a small frown. He didn't know why. Nothing was wrong, not really. It was just that he couldn't forget the conversation he overheard in the store. Their voices were still ringing in his ears. Over and over they repeated the dreaded sentences:**

"That's Sawada Nana you know. And that's the kid she had so young. Poor kid doesn't even have a father. She should have just aborted it, saved him the humiliation of having a whore for a mother."

"No, aborting him would have saved her the humiliation. That is No-Good Tsuna after all."

"True. I bet it's his fault his father left them. After all, who would stick around if they had to see that everyday."

"I wonder why Nana hasn't ditched him yet. I know I would."

"She's probably too much of a ditz to notice what a loser her son is."

And then, once all was said, every cruel thing they could think of, they laughed. It was a cold mean laugh. And Tauna, he just kept walking.

Now, as he walked home he kept reminding himself that his father was dead. He didn't leave them. He died. And he wouldn't have wanted to leave them. No, he wouldn't have even dreamed of it. He loved them. He loved him. But, still, doubt crept into his mind. Ma-Maybe he did leave them. Maybe it was his fault. No, no it couldn't be. He wanted to ask his mom. Ask her if his dad was really dead. But that would just raise suspicion. Instead he decided to go for another question.

"Mom, how did Dad die?" came a small, desperate voice.

"Papa's not dead, Tsu-kun. Where did you get that idea?" she replied, her tone surprisingly joyous.

At first came a thrill of some sort. His father was alive! His father was alive he remembered. And that meant his father had left him. Those women were probably right: it was his fault.

A soft "Oh," left his lips, and his heart continued to sink, just a little more.

They continued their walk in the rain, and Tsuna couldn't help but think exactly how fitting the weather was.

About a month later, Iemitsu came home. There was no rhyme or reason for such an out of character choice. Maybe he missed a home cooked meal. Maybe he just missed Japan. Tsuna had secretly hoped it was because his father had secretly missed him. Truth be told, Tsuna hadn't even recognised him when his father showed up at the door.

In the morning when he was leaving for school, he opened the door to find a big, burly dude covered in dirt was standing outside. He was a little concerned. Well maybe more than a little. He was even more concerned when his mother, upon laying eyes on the odd man, immediately ran over and kissed him. needless to say, he was very concerned.

"Oh, Iemetsu! I'm so glad you're home!" she cried.

Iemetsu. That name stuck a cord. With hesitation, Tsuna let out a straglled sound.

"Dad?"

"Oh, Tsuna, look how big you've gotten. You're almost a man now, aren't ya'?" he laughed.

"Um yeah, I guess." came the mumbled reply. "I-I have to get going to school now. Um, bye."

"Alright, Good-bye son." said Iemitsu.

"Bye Tsu-kun. Have a good day at school." his mother said as she waved him off.

Once at school, Tsuna couldn't focus on anything the teacher was saying-not that he ever could. He just kept staring out the window and thinking about his dad. Why was he really there? Could it possibly be because he missed them? That didn't seem likely, or else he would have visited them before. "No, dont think like that," he told himself. "Don't be ungrateful. Don't be selfish. You're lucky he's even here to put up with you." But he couldn't help but wonder why he had left Mama. How could anyone leave her? Didn't-didn't he feel guilty not being there for her. Life is really hard for her. Japan's not all that kind to single mothers. He wanted to confront the blond man, but… he didn't want him to leave again. Not after they had just got him back.

When lunch came, he went up to his normal spot on the roof. He liked it there, it is as sunny and warm and most importantly, he was alone. It's not that he didn't like people; it was just that people didn't like him. Sure there was the occasional kind person like Kyoko, and Yamamoto was a good friend, but most people thought of him only as Dame-Tsuna, and today Yamamoto was eating lunch with his baseball friends. It kinda sucked only having one friend because when he was busy, Tsuna had no one. So he sat all alone on the roof where there was no one to say anything to him and no one to remind him that he had no friends.

Tsuna was pulled out of his reverie as the door to the roof opened with the unpleasant sound of rust rubbing together, a sound Tsuna was familiar with. His spirits began to rise again as he thought that maybe it was Yamamoto coming to eat with him. But his hopes were shattered when the open door revealed only Hibari Kyouya, head of the Disciplinary Committee. At this point, Tsuna would normally be scared out of his mind, but today, he was far too sad to be scared.

"Hello Hibari-san," came a quiet voice.

"Herbivore," he greeted.

One could say they were on good terms-well good terms for it being Hibari. They were courteous when they saw each other in the roof, which was often. And after a short greeting, they would usually go off onto separate sides of the roof. But today was different. Today, Tsuna was lonely and sad and needed someone to remind him that he wasn't abousolutely awful, that he wouldn't push everyone away. And so, he did something no man in their right mind would do.

"Um, Hibari-san," a hesitant voice rang. "do you wanna eat lunch with me."

After that, the most surprising thing that had ever happened to Tsuna occurred: Hibari sat down. With him. He actually sat down to eat lunch with the brunet.

Many thing could be said about the prefect. He was rude, bloodthirsty, and often cruel. However, no one ever said he didn't have his moments of kindness.

After about three minutes of uncomfortable silence, Tsuna realized the skylark had been sitting there with nothing.

"Um, Hibari-san, aren't you hungry."

"Hn"

"Here," he handed the prefect a pair of chopsticks."You can have some of mine."

Hibari took a bite of Tsuna's omelette, and the two carried on like that in silence. It was a more comfortable kind of silence. The brunette was just happy that someone was with him, and for the raven haired, well, one could say he felt the same. They continued like that for the rest of lunch until the bell rang. The prefect stood up and began walking away when Tsuna called him back.

"Hey, Hi-Hibari-san, would you wanna do this again sometime. Eat lunch together, I mean. I'll-I'll bring you a bento too so that we don't have to share."

"Hn," he replied.

"I-I'll take that as a yes then. See you tomorrow Hibari-San!" He squeaked out before quickly turning and exiting the roof.

* * *

Okay so this is one of my first fics, so please don't judge. Anyway we will get into the actual plot line next chapter this is just the prologue. Anyway, please review. Even if it's just to tell me that this story is terrible, I would still appreciate any review. Also, thanks for reading


	2. Chapter 2

Summary:Despite Reborn not being set to mentor him until he is twenty one, Tsuna still stumbles into the mafia at 16 years old, when his identity as the son of the Vongola's Young Lion is leaked.

Disclaimer: not mine

okay so this is 10 pages long holy fuck that is twice as long as my usual.i know i said i would start the trouble for tsuna involving the maffia this chapter, but it wont be til next chapter sorry. anyways, i worked really hard on this chapter and a ihope you enjoyed it. also, please review.

Chapter One: Abandonment

* * *

Tsuna's heart began to race as he quickly ran down the stairs, leaving his lunch buddy behind on the roof. It had finally sunk in, what he had just done. He had just had lunch with the most dangerous boy in school, and even worse, he had just made plans to do it again. It was… well it was kind of embarrassing actually. Tsuna was sure he had made a fool of himself. He didn't know what exactly he did wrong, but he was sure it was something. He was sure Hibari thought it was weird and that Hibari was only saying yes-well he didn't exactly say the word yes, he more just grunted-to be polite, and well, Tsuna was embarrassed.

Politeness, however, was much out of character for the skylark. He did what he wanted, regardless of social convention. As he laid down on the roof, bathing in the sun's warm rays, he couldn't help but smirk to the sky for reasons barely known to himself.

"Yo, Tsuna," Yamamoto chimed lightly as the brunette took a seat next to him, the classroom was just loud enough to hide their discussion behind a cacophony of noise.

"Hey, Yamamoto."

"Where were you at lunch? I was hoping we could eat together."

"Oh, uh, I thought you were eating with the baseball team."

"Nah, those guys went off campus to eat. Were you up on the roof again?"

"Yeah, it was weird, actually. I ate with Hibari-san."

The classroom had suddenly gotten quiet just as he had said that. A few gasps could be heard, and Tsuna began to curse Kami for his misfortune. Yamamoto was looking at him through that squinty-eyed smile again, and a few whispers could be heard, but mostly everyone was too shocked to speak. The infamous Hibari Kyouya had actually eaten lunch with Dame-Tsuna. The students couldn't even find it in themselves to even give a proper reaction to this change of events.

The bell then rang, and the teacher walked in. With something new to focus on, the students soon turned their attention to the teacher, and some of the awkwardness was alleviated. Tsuna even paid attention to the lesson, if only to rid his mind of a certain raven-haired teen. But when the x's jumbled up with the y and he didn't understand that m was equal to slope or whatever the hell mx+b meant, that plan of attack was quickly given up on. Instead, his mind found it's way back to his father. He sighed as he soon realized it was only a matter of time before the blond just left again.

When the school day was over, Tsuna walked out the school gates waving a goodbye to Yamamoto who waved back before jogging off to baseball practice. Tsuna walked down the familiar streets, still thinking of ways to even approach his dad. He knew it may do no good, but the brunet wanted to at least get his words out. On the way home, he passed the park. On a nice soft patch of grass under the shade of a small Sakura tree. Back resting against the trunk, Tsuna settled into deep thought about what exactly he would confront his father on and when.

The sun hung low in the sky by the time Tsuna reached his conclusion. He slowly stood up and stretched his legs. Sitting against a tree trunk for a few hours had made him incredibly stiff. With one last twist of the shoulder blades, he headed off in the direction of home.

As he entered the house, his mother greeted him and his father remained asleep. He waited in the living room, hoping his father would wake up, so that they could talk, but to no avail. After waiting for about an hour, his mother called for dinner. Only then did he see his father stir. His father got up with a groan and made his way into the kitchen.

As they ate dinner, his mom and father chatted on and on about anything and everything. Apparently, Nana's latest shopping trip was quite eventful and according to Iemitsu, Russia had a large penguin population. Tsuna didn't catch a word of it though, he was too distracted waiting for dinner to end. Right as dinner was coming to a close however, Tsuna remembered his bento for Hibari. By the time he came back from asking his mom for a second bento, his father was already in bed asleep.

The following days occurred much the same. Tsuna walked to school, and met Yamamoto in the classroom. They talked for a bit before class then talked again after school. On the third day, Yamamoto even walked Tsuna home. Each day, the brunet went up to the roof to eat with Hibari, who he might add enjoyed the bentos immensely. The prefect always finished before Tsuna, and on the second day stole a piece of the brunet's lunch, then smirked when the boy got mad.

Then every evening after dinner, something distracted Tsuna just long enough for Iemitsu to fall asleep before Tsuna got back to talk to him.

On the third day, someone had knocked on the door then disappeared just before Tsuna had opened the door. Tsuna was afraid that his dad was leaving soon. It had been four days since Tsuna first thought to confront him, and Tsuna was afraid that if he didn't talk to his father soon, he wouldn't be able to. So, when Tsuna walked back to the living room and saw his father fast asleep, he decided to wait until his father woke up.

It was two thirty at night and Tsuna sat surrounded by darkness, eyes long adjusted to seeing without the light. He sat on the ground about three feet from Iemitsu's head, in the corner of the room. Iemitsu's lay on his cot with his mouth mode open lost snoring, the only thing between the house and a bone chilling silence. Tsuna had been sitting there since seven twenty-four that evening, hoping his father would wake up so that they could talk. So far, this hadn't happened. He was about to fall asleep for the seventh time that night when all of a sudden, his father tossed to the side, then, to the other.

"Dad?" he whispered, hoping his father was awake.

A head turned up, and large brown eyes stared up at his. Tsuna, while barely conscious, felt a lie of relief spread across his face.

"Dad," he said again.

"What's wrong Tsuna? Did you have a bad dream?" came a drowsy voice as the man lifted up the covers, an invitation to join him.

"Uh, yeah," the boy lied. "I had a bad dream."

Tsuna crawled in and a large, protective arm wrapped around his side. It reminded him of when he was young and when he was sure his father loved him. It felt like being home, like the first time he'd been home in a long time. A small sob found its way out of his mouth. His father's eyes widened in concern and he wrapped his arms tighter around the boy drawing him closer. This only seemed to make him cry harder.

"What's-what's wrong Tsuna."

"You're only gonna leave us again, aren't you?" a choked voice called.

"What do you mean?"

"You're gonna abandon us like you did before, only this time you aren't coming back."

"What do you mean? I always come back," his voice laced in reassurance.

"It was ten years dad. Not one phone call, not a single post card," he managed to choke out.

"I thought you were dead," Tsuna whispered.

Iemitsu pulled his son in tighter and ran his fingers through the boy's hair. His hug was the closest he could get to an "I'm sorry." Tsuna cried like that for another hour, fingers running through his hair and a tight arm arm round him, until he fell asleep.

In the morning, he woke up to an empty cot and the smell of breakfast in the air. But when he got to the table, it was empty. The food sat there ready to be eaten, but no one was there eating it. His father wasn't there eating it.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Tsu-kun," came a voice from the kitchen.

"Where's Dad?" He inquired, his voice desperate and strained.

"He left for work early this morning."

Her voice was chearful as if she didn't realize that he wouldn't be back.

"I think he's off to dig an oil rig in the North Pole. Isn't that exciting, Tsu-kun."

He delivered no answer. Still in his crumpled uniform, which he hadn't bothered to take off last night. His face coated in dry tears and messy hair, he stormed out the door, slamming it behind him. As he walked to school, he didn't notice the chihuahua trailing behind him nor the cat who hissed at him from atop a fence. He carried on quickly and silently.

As he approached the school gates, he did not look the prefect in the eye, nor did hide and cower from him. Tsuna simply continued walking not caring about anyone or anything around him. And when he entered the classroom, Yamamoto waved hello at him, and Tsuna didn't even notice. He sat down and stared right ahead.

Yamamoto walked up to his desk and kindly asked in a low voice, "Tsuna, are you okay."

"Yeah, I'm just a little distracted." he said solemnly.

Truth be told he really was distracted. All he could think about was his dad and why he left. Was it his fault? For once he didn't even try to pay attention to the class. The teacher droned on and on and Tsuna stared straight ahead.

The bell rang signaling lunches beginning, and Tsuna made his way up to the roof to eat with Hibari as he had every day so far this week. When he opened the door to the roof, he didn't see the clear blue sky or the sun that left it's bright gaze upon all it touched. He barely even saw Hibari leaning against the wall and waiting for him. He was altogether too distracted to notice anything. He gave the prefect his bento and sat down to eat his own in silence. This was not the comfortable quiet for which they had started off with. No, this was a heavy silence filled with all the things Tsuna could not bring himself to say and all the things Hibari could never understand.

The skylark sat down and stared at the brunet incredulously, trying to see what exactly was happening. Tsuna just kept staring down into his bento, slowly pushing the food around. It continued on like that for the most of the lunch period until the brunet broke the silence.

"My father left today," he admitted.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for another minute or so in another uncomfortable silence, neither of them knowing what to do. The ringing of the bell came as a sort of relief for the both of them. Tsuna trotted off to his classroom and Hibari to find a comfortable place for a nap.

The bell soon rang once again, signalling the end of the school day. Bodies moved swiftly out the door and vacated the premises. The sounds of the school slowly fell to nothing but the slow rhythms of a brush sweeping back and forth. Tsuna had cleaning duty this week, not that he minded. He did his duty with ease. The desks had been pushed back to the side of the room and the garbage removed from the floor. He had just finished wiping down the windows, and the slow, orange sunset came softly wafting into the classroom. Head turned down to watch the dust pile up after the broom, Tsuna had not even noticed how late it was getting. Truth be told, he almost enjoyed cleaning. It was one thing he didn't fail at, though he didn't suppose it was really possible to fail at cleaning. Maybe that was why he liked it. There was no room for error nor facts to remember, he simply had to push a broom back and forth. The other thing he liked about it was that he didn't have to think while doing it. He could only act, push the cloth around the windows, push the dust into a pile, and continue on. There was no time to ponder, no time to think, all he had to do was move. A break from thinking, from conscious thought was perfect sometime. It was a delicacy to Tsuna, and he wouldn't waste a second of it.

The brunette swept the last of the dirt onto the dust pan and sighed in relief at a job well done. He took a second to admire his work, and as he gazed out the window, his eyes stumbled upon the orange hue cast over Namimori. With the sunset sprawled against it, Tsuna almost thought the town was beautiful. He almost thought he loved it.

That was when he remembered. He remembered what the town had done to him. The beatings in back allies, the lunches spent eating alone, the whispers behind his back, and the breaks spent crying in the bathroom, and of all the people who felt no care for him, of the father who left him. With one swift remembrance, the rose colored glasses through which he had been looking broke, never to be put back together. His smile fell, but not to a frown, simply a straight line. His eyes held no tears, no pain, in fact they held nothing. Then, he felt it. A small fire lit and his pupils were set ablaze. He grabbed his bag and stormed out of the classroom.

Loud footsteps rang through the empty corridors, attracting the attention of a prefect making his patrols. A tuft of brown steadily making its way through the halls caught his attention. The student was currently trespassing onto the campus after school hours, breaking school rules, causing a disruption to the peace.

"Halt," the skylark demanded.

The perpetrator kept on walking. Furious, he stalked up behind the offender, grabbed him by the arm, and turned him around, to face the prefect. Hibari, with narrowed eyes and pursed lips, stared directly into the flaming yet stone cold eyes of Sawada Tsunayoshie.

"You're trespassing on school property after hours," came a growl. Any one else would have been bitten by now, but Hibari was giving Tsuna a chance to explain himself first. After all, Tsuna wasn't anyone else.

"Do you have a problem with that," the brunette replied harshly.

"Herbivore," the prefect warned.

Tsuna only stared back unflinchingly, as if daring the raven-haired to do anything about it. The challenge was recognized by the latter, and Hibari decided to make the first move.

"For breaking school rules and disturbing the peace, I'll bite you to death," the prefect growled, swinging a tonfa.

Tsuna quickly dodged and raised his fists, standing ready for the fight. Another tonfa swung his way, and the brunet dodged again before kicking downward in an attempt to knock the prefects legs out from under him. Hibari jumped, lunging out a leg of his own, aimed directly for Tsuna's chest. Fire still in his eyes, the brunet moved his forearm to block the kick, shoving his leg narrowly away from the shorter males torso. The skylark landed to the ground in a crouched position before extending his leg once again to sweep the other's out from under him. Tsuna jumped much as Hibari had, and while he was in the air, the prefect rose back up swinging a tonfa towards his side. Still in the air, Tsuna caught the tonfa, ripping it from the other's grip. A metallic clang came as the weapon landed harshly onto the tile. One tonfa down, Hibari swung his only remaining weapon at the brunet only to have it be caught by bare hands. Tsuna quickly began to counter the attack launching his fist towards the prefect's cheek. The fire began to flicker and a tear rolled down one cheek as the punch was delivered. The force knocked Hibari back, and the boy stumbled down to the ground. Tsuna dropped down too, pinning the skylark to the ground. Tears now cascading down his face, but fire still present as ever within his now ablaze eyes. Tsuna put his full force into holding the prefect down.

Hunched over and staring directly into the prefects eyes, he screamed out the question for which all this had come.

"Why did he leave me?" the brunet boy screamed. That was when a sob racked through him and his chest began to sag. Still clutching Hibari, now more support than for the sake of holding the skylark down, he let out barely a whisper.

"Why did he leave me Hibari?" His voice trembled. "Why wasn't I enough?"

After a few more tears dripped off the point of Tsuna's nose and onto the front of the raven-haired's shirt. The boy was trembling and hunched over, breaths coming out ragged. Hibari slowly wrapped an arm around his back and pulled him down to lie beside the prefect. With his face in the crook of Hibari's neck, Tsuna continued to choke out muffled sobs. His body shook softly into Hibari's arms as more tears cascaded down finding their way to the concrete. The prefect lay holding him and staring up at the orange sky.

* * *

how did you guys feel about tsuna's relationship with his dad? did i portray it alright? and how did you guys feel about his meltdown? if you have any requests, suggestions, or just anything you want to say please review or pm me. :)


End file.
